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Quick answers
When should I pick Funnel?
When the story is: ordered drop-off: leads, checkouts, applications.
When should I avoid Funnel?
Skip it in cases like: stages are not nested subsets of the same population.
Who invented or popularised it?
Sales-management language of the mid-20th century; later CRM dashboards
What does it encode?
width (or area) of successive stages
Is it OK in ads?
Yes if one claim is visible at a glance in Meta, Google and retail print; otherwise link to a full figure.
Will a teacher accept it?
Yes for lab reports and poster boards if axes, units and a source line are present.
Funnel encodes values as width (or area) of successive stages. Sales-management language of the mid-20th century; later CRM dashboards.
In reports, ads and assignments it fits ordered drop-off: leads, checkouts, applications. Skip it when stages are not nested subsets of the same population.
Use when
- Use when 1 — Use Funnel when the story is ordered drop-off: leads, checkouts, applications.
- Use when 2 — Build the first draft in Excel or Google Sheets, then restyle — do not screenshot.
- Use when 3 — In PowerPoint, one Funnel per slide, claim in the title.
- Use when 4 — For lab reports and poster boards, this form works when the question is comparison or process.
- Use when 5 — In Meta, Google and retail print, keep one number visible at thumbnail size.
Avoid when
- Avoid when 1 — Skip Funnel in cases like: stages are not nested subsets of the same population.
- Avoid when 2 — 3-D, dual axes, rainbow scales
- Avoid when 3 — Undated numbers, undated time series
- Avoid when 4 — Four charts on one slide
Audiences
- Work — PowerPoint
- Ads — Meta, Google and retail print
- School — lab reports and poster boards
Funnel: honour width (or area) of successive stages, and switch when stages are not nested subsets of the same population.